Free Nook reader app comes to the UK

The free Nook app is finally available for UK readers who want to access their existing Nook e-book purchases on an iPhone, iPad or Android device, or to search for and buy new titles.

The Nook Store, part of US bookseller and digital content company Barnes & Noble, currently offers over 2.5 million books, magazines, newspapers and comics and until now, customers beyond the US needed one of the company's Nook e-readers or tablets to buy and read its content. However, after the Nook app's success in the US, Barnes & Noble has chosen the UK as the next territory for the app's launch.

The availability of the app follows the official launch of Barnes & Noble's range of Nook e-readers and tablets, which hit UK shelves earlier this month and have won praise from the tech community for the quality of their screens, their lightweight construction and their competitive pricing. The supporting app will give users the freedom to try Nook Store content without having to buy a Nook device.

"Our popular collection of reading apps have been downloaded millions of times in the US, and now UK customers can enjoy the flexibility to shop our vast digital catalogue and enjoy titles from their Nook Library anywhere they go, whether they're using one of our award-winning Nook products, an iPad, iPhone or Android device," said Jamie Iannone, President of Nook Media LLC.

The app's launch is the latest in a number of steps taken by Barnes & Noble to extend its reach beyond the US and to challenge Amazon's dominance in the e-reader and digital publishing market. Amazon also offers a range of competitively priced e-readers and tablets and its own Kindle reader app is historically one of the most popular free downloads on the Apple App Store.